Automation: Sponsor Application Email Notifications

We’ve created two automations to send email templates from the WordPress Community Team Help Scout inbox when a sponsor application is either:

❗️ Flagged for GPLGPL GPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. or Trademark infringements (all events)
✅ Approved (only for events that require vetting from the Central before uploading the sponsor invoice, or those that don’t use the sponsor invoice tool)

This setup ensures timely and consistent communication with sponsors while giving us manual control over when each email is sent.

Accounts & Access:

Zapier credentials from 1Password
Zap – Infringing Sponsor Email (link)
Zap – Approved Sponsor Email (link)
Airtable credentials from 1Password
Airtable Sponsor Vetting workspace

Overview

These automations use Airtable, Zapier, and Help Scout.

Each sponsor record in Airtable includes fields to manually trigger the correct email template. When a checkbox is checked, Zapier sends the corresponding message from the Community Team inbox.

Two Zaps are used in this setup:

Sponsor Vetting: Trigger Infringement Email – sends an email to a sponsor when their application is flagged for GPL or trademark issues.
Sponsor Vetting: Trigger Approval Email – sends an email to the event email address confirming approval of the sponsor.

Airtable Setup

The Airtable workspace contains all sponsor vetting records and fields used by the automation:

Field:	Purpose:
Sponsor Email	Recipient of the infringement email (if any)
Current Event Email	Event’s email — CC’d in the infringement email sent to the sponsor (if any), and recipient of the approval email
Status	Used to check if sponsor is marked as “Needs Compliance”
Approval Status	Used to confirm if the sponsor is approved
Trigger Infringement Email	Checkbox to trigger the infringement email Zap
Trigger Approval Email	Checkbox to trigger the approval email Zap
Email Conversation Link	Place to store links to the Help Scout conversations
Comments	Optional space for internal notes or follow-up

Automation

Zap 1: Trigger Infringement Email

Purpose:

To automatically notify sponsors about non-compliance issues, copying the event organizing team.

This Zap runs when:

Trigger Infringement Email checkbox is checked ✅
Status is set to “Needs Compliance”

When both conditions are met, Zapier sends an infringement notice from the Community Team Help Scout inbox (support@wordcamp.org) to the Sponsor Email, with the Current Event Email CC’d. The email will include the tags sponsor-vetting and sponsor-infringing.

Zap 2: Trigger Approval Email

Purpose:

To notify the event organizing team when a sponsor is approved. This only applies to:

Events that require vetting from the Central before uploading the sponsor invoice (e.g., WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event.)
Events that don’t use sponsor invoices (e.g., those not running money through WPCSWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program.)

This Zap runs when:

Trigger Approval Email checkbox is checked ✅
Approval Status is “Yes”

When both conditions are met, Zapier sends an approval confirmation email from the Community Team Help Scout inbox (support@wordcamp.org) to the Current Event Email. The email will include the tags sponsor-vetting and sponsor-approval.

Workflows

Filing in the fields in Airtable

Before triggering either email, make sure the GPL and Trademark fields are properly completed. These fields help determine whether the sponsor needs a compliance notice or approval message.

When adding a new sponsor:

Search for the sponsor name in Airtable to check if a record already exists.
If a record is not found, create a new card.
Fill in the required fields, including:
- Sponsor Name
- Company Link
- Sponsor Email Address
- Current Event Name
- Current Event Email Address
- and other relevant fields such as GPL Notes and Trademark Notes.
If the sponsor already exists in Airtable, update their existing card instead of creating a duplicate.

GPL field

If no infringements write “All good.”
If not applicable write “Not applicable.”
If infringing explain the issue in clear, simple terms and include the request or instructions to fix it.

Example: “Could you please share the link to your GPL page with us?”

Trademark field

If no infringements write “All good.”
If infringing explain the issue in the simplest way and note the corrective action needed.

Example: “The [page links 1, 2, 3] mention ‘WordPress hosting’; please replace all mentions with ‘hosting for WordPress.’”

Note:
If no infringements found, set the Status to “Compliant & Needs Approval”.
If infringements are found, proceed to Automation Workflow 1: Infringement Email to notify the sponsor and the event organizing team.

Sponsors Previously Approved (Re-vetting for New Events)

If a sponsor has already been vetted and approved for a past event and is now applying for a new one, a re-vetting is still required to ensure their information and website remain compliant.

Follow these steps before triggering any email:

Search for the sponsor name in Airtable to locate previous vetting records.
Review their past GPL and Trademark notes and confirm whether any prior issues were resolved.
Check their current website or materials for updates — sometimes companies change branding, offerings, or add new product pages that may introduce new trademark or GPL concerns.
If everything remains compliant, mark the GPL and Trademark fields as “All good.” Then set the status to “Compliant & Needs Approval”
If new or unresolved issues are found update the notes accordingly and follow the regular process to trigger the Infringement Email if needed.
In the Comments field, note that this is a re-vetting and include a link to the sponsor’s previous record if available.
Add the previously approved Approval Date to the Previously Approved Dates (if any) field, move the Current Event Name to List of Past Events Sponsored, and update the Current Event Email field to reflect the current event’s email address.

This ensures consistency across events while keeping sponsor vetting records up to date and traceable.

Submitting a Batch Date for Approval

Sponsors are reviewed and approved in batches. If there are enough compliant sponsors for that batch date (around 5 or more), it’s best to submit them together for approval.

How to submit a batch for approval

In Airtable, open the Grid view – by Batch Date.
On the upper-right, click Filtered by Batch.
You’ll see a filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. such as “Where Batch is exact date.”
- Click the date and select the batch date you want to submit for review.
Airtable will show all sponsors assigned to that specific batch date.
In the upper-right corner, click Share and Sync.
Copy the shared view link.
Share that link with the approver. They’ll be able to view the list directly without needing to sign in or create an Airtable account.

After Approval: Process Invoice & Send Approval Email

Once a sponsor is approved, complete these steps to finalize their participation:

Open Sponsor Invoices Submitted for Processing

Search for the sponsor name and the current event.

2. Approve the invoice

3. Update Airtable

Set Approval Status to “Yes” (if not already).
Enter the Approval Date (today’s date).
Confirm Event Email and Sponsor Email are correct.

Trigger the approval email (see Automation Workflow 2: Approval Email)

Notes: If the event does not use Sponsor Invoices (e.g., not running money through WPCS), skip Steps 1-2, and proceed with Steps 3–4.

Automation Workflow 1: Infringement Email

When to trigger:

When the GPL or Trademark notes are filled, change the Status to “Needs Compliance” and check the Trigger Infringement Email checkbox.

After the email is sent:

Go to Help Scout Community Team Inbox Closed tab.
Find the email sent to the sponsor.
Copy the link to the Help Scout conversation thread.
Paste it into the Airtable field Email Conversation Link, or add it in the Comments section.
Uncheck the Trigger Infringement Email checkbox to reset it.
Change the Status from “Needs Compliance” “Compliance Requested”.

Automation Workflow 2: Approval Email

When to trigger:

When the sponsor is approved, select “Yes” in the Approval Status field, then check the Trigger Approval Email checkbox.

After the email is sent:

Go to Help Scout Community Team Inbox Closed tab.
Find the email sent for the approval notice.
Copy the link to the Help Scout conversation thread.
Paste it into the Airtable field Email Conversation Link, or add it in the Comments section.
Uncheck the Trigger Approval Email checkbox to reset it.
Add the date of approval in the Approval Date field.

Email Content

Infringement Email

Sent from: support@wordcamp.org
To: Sponsor Email Address
CC: Current Event Email
Based on legal-approved language (see example below)
Includes dynamic content from the following Airtable fields:
- GPL
- Trademark

SUBJECT: Action Required: Compliance for WordPress Event Sponsorship

Dear [SPONSOR NAME],

I’m reaching out about your interest in sponsoring [CURRENT EVENT NAME].

Thank you for supporting the WordPress community!

We greatly value your involvement and the contributions you make to our shared mission.

During a recent review, we identified some concerns regarding compliance with the WordPress Trademark Policy (https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/) or GPL requirements. Specifically, we noticed that:

– Trademark: [TRADEMARK FIELD]

– GPL: [GPL FIELD]

Compliance with the WordPress Trademark and GPL Policy is a requirement for participating as a sponsor at WordPress events. We kindly ask that these adjustments be made within the next 15 days and that you confirm when the updates have been completed. If 15 days are not enough to complete all necessary updates, please reply to this email with an estimated timeline.

If you have any questions or need assistance to resolve this matter, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re happy to work with you to ensure compliance while supporting your continued involvement with the WordPress community.

Thank you for your understanding and prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your confirmation soon.

Best regards,

Approval Email

Sent from: support@wordcamp.org
To: Current Event Email
Uses a predefined approval message template
(see example below)

SUBJECT: WordPress Event Sponsorship Approved

Dear [CURRENT EVENT NAME],

We’re happy to let you know that the sponsorship application for [SPONSOR NAME] has been approved — thank you for growing the WordPress community!

Please, feel free to reach out to the sponsor point of contact to follow up on the next steps.

If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reply to this email.

Best regards,

Maintenance Tips

When adding new fields or updating templates:

Update Zapier field connections:
If any Airtable fields are renamed or new ones are added (for example, Sponsor Name, Event Name, GPL Notes, or Trademark Notes), open each Zap in Zapier and review the Help Scout step to ensure all email fields (To, CC, Subject, Body) are still linked to the correct Airtable fields.

Regular maintenance:

Review Help Scout email templates regularly:
Ensure that email text, tone, and any linked resources remain accurate and up to date.
If a Zap fails:
Check Zapier Zap History for run or error details, and confirm that the required Airtable and Help Scout fields still exist.

In Help Scout, open the conversation to review message history, tags, and delivery status to verify whether the email was sent successfully.

Infringing Companies Follow-Up

If an infringing sponsor decides to withdraw their application and refuses to address the trademark violations, we’ll send one final email manually from the Community Help Scout inbox to the sponsor’s email address, using the Saved Reply “Sponsor Withdraws – Refuses to Comply.”

Automation: Sponsor Application Email Notifications

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